Unlike the results of a traditional, high-fat Western diet, following a low-fat diet that includes fish oil supplements for four to six weeks prior to prostate removal slowed down the growth of rapidly dividing prostate cancer cells in human prostate cancer tissue, UCLA researchers said in a study published today.

The short-term study carried out by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center also found that the men on the low-fat, fish oil supplement diet were able to change the composition of their cell membranes in both the healthy cells and the cancer cells in the prostate, a statement said.

They had increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and decreased levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil in the cell membranes, which may directly affect the biology of the cells, though further studies are needed, said Dr. William Aronson, a Jonsson researcher and the study's first author.

The study also found that blood obtained from patients after the low- fat, fish oil diet program slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in a test tube while blood from men on the Western diet did not," it said.

"The finding that the low-fat, fish oil diet reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in the prostate cancer tissue is important because the rate at which the cells are dividing can be predictive of future cancer progression," Aronson said.

"The lower the rate of proliferation, the lesser the chances that

The study appears today in Cancer Prevention Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.